Well, I've sure learned something, and my apologies!

First of all, I don't like the TSA. I think there is a lot of nonsense and window dressing going on there. But I have always defended most of the agents, being that they were usually very kind to me. (I am nice to them, I figured 'be cool, they'll be ok back)

What I wasn't taking into consideration is that I was in my flight attendant uniform.

When I fly for pleasure anymore, I hardly ever non-rev- it's too hard, (and I have no patience for it). So I buy my tickets like anyone else. I don't bring my airline ID even- just use my driver's license. So of course the TSOs have no idea I am an FA. I have been shocked at how I have been barked at and talked to like I am a moron.

Gives me a whole different perspective on things...

...I agree with your assessment of the TSA's usefulness... and like you believe folks deserve courtesy (until proven otherwise..)

I too have never had a problem with TSA staff... funny thing is, I am NOT a uniformed airline employee.....never have been.

I don't doubt the bad experiences some folks here speak of.... but I haven't experienced such things myself... ever.. and as I travel routinely with firearms I deal with TSO's more often than the average joe....

It isn't just the security screening for me...it's baggage check in too...

One of my firm rules: Be nice to the person with the gun.

Even TSA personnel understand this.

THE ULTIMATE LITMUS TEST

I found your thread most interesting as I feel it is something of a litmus test. I doubt that your demeanor substantially changes, if at all when, you are in your flight uniform and feel you are treated with dignity or if you are in more casual attire and not treated with dignity.

I draw two possible conclusions from your experiences.

1) Assuming your demeanor is one of an unpleasant person, then you were treated decently in uniform as the TSO didn't want to make waves with your airline or other percieved higher authority then the TSO, but when in casual attire they believe they can be unpleasent to you in return.

2)Assuming your demeanor is one of a pleasant person, then you are treated decently for the same reasons noted above, but unpleasantly when in casual attire because the TSO has a bully mentality.

In either case if the TSO must treat you in kind (#1), or is a bully (#2), this indicates to me that the person's behavior is unacceptable, contrary to TSA's posted passenger rights, and the TSO should be reassigned to a position where they have no human contact, or be fired.

I have always felt no matter how poorly a person treats another, if the latter is in a position of power they can always use the proverbial ultimate threat, whatever you percieve it to be (i.e. DY...T, call police, etc.), and therefore can afford to be deferential to the offending party (the former).

This also adds credence to a post I recently made on another thread, and that is as a general rule, anyone in a service related position should experience (incognito) what their customers experience so that they can have a better understanding of how the process works or doesn't, and how they are treated. This is particularly true of TSOs of which few I have spoken with have gone through the screening process as a civilian.

Again, you treatment while wearing civilian clothes just substantiates the above observation.

I am sorry you had a bad experience OP. It is unacceptable to me for TSOs to be rude, or anything less than professional and courteous. Have you considered complaining directly to the airport that you had this experience at? If you do think some more on it, and would like to make a comment directly to the airport staff, please visit the Talk to TSA site here:

https://contact.tsa.dhs.gov/talktotsa/talktotsa.aspx

Again, sorry you had a bad experience.

What you don't understand is this persons experience is more normal than abnormal.

TSA employees treat travelers like excrement!

Because your belief is not true. The poll�s prove it. Most people have a quick and reasonably pleasant experience at TSA checkpoints, given what is required.

The thing is that those who do have a reasonably pleasant experience are usually never heard from again. It�s the ones who don�t that we hear from most often. It�s human nature that it�s easier to complain about something than to compliment. A reasonably pleasant experience is what they expect, and there is no reason to remark upon such happenings, but if it is not what they get then complaining is the very least that they can do. Of those who do compliment the service, rarely do they do so in writing. And it�s easy to forget what an experience one expects, but let it be an unpleasant experience and that sticks in the mind.

While I can understand how you might be of that belief, it�s just not factual.

I think your wrong.

Anyone who has ever taken a Statistics/Probability class would be able to tell you that polls can be created to provide whatever answer one wants to achieve. I do not accept poll numbers as facts, without competent research attached to the poll that describes the method used to create the poll, the actual questions used, along with the manner in which the questions were asked.

I disagree for the most part. There are encounters that are terrible and never should happen, but for every one of those encounters, I believe there are 8-10 more that are at worst neutral.

I choose to try and make a difference by getting more information into the system (which is why I post links for the TTT page). Even if this person filing a complaint does not make an immediate difference, it might help to make a difference down the road somewhere.

You need to experience TSA from a travelers viewpoint.

And, for the most part, that point is irrelevant to the discussion we should be having here.

It doesn't matter whether the OP's experience is common or uncommon among passengers. It shouldn't happen, period. Excusing it away by getting into side arguments about whether or most people have a good experience with TSA is beside the point. (And we're all guilty of drifting into that argument.)

Look at TSA's core values:

Note: "at all times", not "95% of the time as verified by a poll".

Fantasy:

Reality:

Associated Press-

Poll: Travelers dislike TSA as much as IRS

Indeed, only the Federal Emergency Management Agency, still suffering from its mishandling of Hurricane Katrina, ranks below the Transportation Security Administration among the least-liked federal agencies, according to a new Associated Press-Ipsos poll.

TSA tied with the perennially unpopular tax collectors in a favorablity ranking of a dozen executive branch agencies.

"I am so frustrated with TSA that I am ready to stop flying," one traveler wrote in a Sept. 7 complaint filed with the agency. "I'm sure this doesn't matter to you because my tax dollars are already paying you."

The AP poll, conducted Monday through Wednesday, found that the more people travel, the less they like TSA.


Know the difference!

I'm pretty neutral towards the TSA agents I've encountered - if they're friendly or polite, I'll respond in kind, if they're grouchy I'll try my best to either ignore the attitude or not say anything/respond. However, I've had a couple run-ins with TSA where I've filed complaints. In the first case, after I'd gone through the wtmd, I was told to go back and and remove the sweater I had on - yes, I had a shirt on underneath, but even with the sweater you could see the outline of my bra straps. I filed a complaint and got a "It's SOP" response. If I knew then what I knew now, I would have put up a bigger fuss - the agent was clearly on a power trip.

In the second case, which I have not gotten a response on, the TSA agent was in my face about putting my laptop in a separate bin by itself and was almost ready to have me pull it out its (TSA compliant) sleeve. Less than two minutes later, the same TSA agent is yelling at the guy in front of me to take off his sweater and fleece pullover -which he, the TSA agent, promptly dumps on top of my laptop, violating policy and possibly risking the security of my laptop. I was tempted to argue with him over this, but was afraid of the repercussions.

Not one experience has been 'pleasant'. I've been barked out, had my contact lens solution (in the magic baggie) 'examined', been yelled at for not letting go of my driver's license (You can see it in my hand...you really don't need to hold it...), been told keep boarding pass out, to then be told 'why is your boarding pass out!'

Somehow i've missed the joy of the retaliatory secondary... but that still doesn't make kabuki normal 'pleasant'.